The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Bidens, a tender perennial plant which is grown for use in planted containers, hanging baskets and as an ornamental landscape plant. The new variety is known botanically as Bidens ferulifolia and will be referred to hereinafter by the variety name ‘TMBI 1105’. Bidens is in the family Asteraceae whose flowers are inflorescences comprised of ray florets and disc florets. The ray florets themselves have the appearance of petals.
‘TMBI 1105’ is the result of a breeding program commenced in 2008 with the objective of developing unique bicolor forms of Bidens with either white or yellow elements. The breeding program commenced with a deliberate cross between Bidens ferulifolia ‘Lemon Stars’ (unpatented) as the female parent, and Bidens ferulifolia ‘Pirate's Talisman’ (unpatented) as the male parent. The inventor selected the most promising seedling, known to the inventor as selection code ‘BI08106’, for self-pollination. The inventor selected from the self-pollinated progeny of ‘BI08106’ one further seedling, known to the inventor as ‘BI09051’ which the inventor planted in the field as a potential female parent for open pollination by unnamed and unreleased selections for the male parent, each showing a bicolor characteristic and a more compact habit. The inventor collected seeds and raised seedlings from the open-pollinated female parent ‘BI09051’. The raised seedlings were planted in the field in spring 2011 for continuous evaluation through spring and into summer 2011. In August 2011, the inventor selected one seedling, the present invention ‘TMBI 1105’, on the basis of its prostrate and naturally branching plant habit and numerous bicolored flowers whose centers are yellow and whose outer corolla is cream. The female parent of ‘TMBI 1105’ is the inventor's selection ‘BI09051’. The male parent of ‘TMBI 1105’ is unknown.
‘TMBI 1105’ was first asexually propagated in August 2011 in an unheated greenhouse at the inventors nursery in Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom. The method used for asexual propagation was direct rooting of tip cuttings. No hormone or rooting aid was employed. Subsequent asexual propagations have been carried out using tip cuttings and using stem cuttings. The inventor has determined that ‘TMBI 1105’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction by either method of asexual propagation.